Maryland and FSU are set to face off on October 5th, when the Terripans travel to Tally in what will be the last ACC meeting between the schools. / Riley Shaaber/FSView

Written by

Drew MacFarlane

Staff Writer @DrewMacFarlane

Back to Tallahassee for week five of their schedule, the ’Noles will be in their second of seven straight ACC games. Near the very middle of their schedule, these important ACC games will have to be dealt with appropriately if somehow the Seminoles are in the position to be in the hunt for a national championship. With a trip to Boston College in the rearview mirror, Florida State will come back home and prepare for the Terrapins from the University of Maryland.

Much like many of their opponents on the 2013 schedule, the Seminoles face another team with a strangely enigmatic season the year before. Maryland was one of those bizarre stories told across the college football nation last year that almost sounds too strange to be true.

After former starter Danny O’Brien decided to transfer to Wisconsin, the Terrapins Starting job was handed down to C.J. Brown. Unfortunately for Brown, he sustained an ACL injury in fall camp, which sidelined him for the whole season. Brown’s absence left a void to be filled by freshman Perry Hills, who led Maryland to a 4-2 record through the first six games. However, Hills would be lost out of the lineup with an ACL tear. After Hills, reserve Devin Burns would be named unable to play with a foot injury. Now onto their fourth QB, Maryland turned to Caleb Rowe. Rowe played only a smidgen of the NC State game before starting and playing the whole Boston College game. Rowe and his teammates fell short, 20-17, but the bad news wasn’t losing the game, it was that Rowe’s ACL had been torn sometime in the fourth quarter against BC.

The injury to Caleb Rowe baffled Maryland’s staff. After running through all of their possible quarterbacks, it looked as if there was nowhere else to turn, until true-freshman linebacker Shawn Petty emerged. Playing both linebacker and quarterback in high school, Petty was the next best player to fill the spot.

Petty was thrown into action against Georgia Tech to start his college quarterback career, before taking on the Clemson Tigers (13th at the time), the No. 10 Seminoles, and the University of North Carolina. Unfortunately for Petty and his Maryland cronies, all four ended in losses.

In a new 2013 season, the Terrapins, like many others, have not decided their starting QB. One thing is for certain, it will not be Devin Burns, as he jumped ship and decided to transfer away from the cursed QB class at Maryland. Though the undecided quarterback will be a main target for the ’Noles defense, there is still one player who will have to be marked after having himself a fairly decent 2012, despite the conditions of it.

Wide receiver Stefon Diggs will have his fair share of ’Noles defensive backs watching over him when he takes the field in October. The Maryland native was the biggest helping hand to all four quarterbacks who saw playing time in 2012, accumulating 848 receiving yards and falling just 38 yards short of 1,000 all-purpose yards. Though those numbers were only good enough to place him 66th in 2012, the importance of his season shouldn’t be placed on his numbers, but more on his progress. As a first year guy, he made himself known as a go-to receiver.

Making things more interesting is the fact that this is Maryland’s final year in the ACC before heading to the Big Ten and being replaced by the Lousiville Cardinals.

Recent history has shown the ’Noles to victory over the Terrapins, as Florida State his won seven of their last eight over Maryland, the one loss coming back in 2006.

However, you can never be too prepared for a team, and there will be no games that the Seminoles will take lightly. If all goes well, then the ’Noles will be ready to make turtle soup of the Terripans come October 5.